Dust - On Hiatus

Catching Up

Peter leaned forward, pulling his steaming cup of tea closer. Ned had insisted on making some, as if a hot beverage could fix any of the problems they were currently facing. But Peter appreciated the effort anyway.

"So," he asked, fighting to keep his voice steady. "The Winter Soldier has... turned. Who else?"

Ned shrugged. "Scarlet Witch, for one. We know that there are more, but SHIELD isn't telling us anything. And, well... this is far from confirmed, but with Wakanda shut down..."

"The Black Panther?" Peter whispered.

"We don't know for sure, but yeah. It seems like it."

"Okay. So, Falcon stopped The Winter Soldier... I guess we can assume he's on our side?" Peter said, hoping for some more allies. It would be awesome to have an actual adult who knew what they were doing around.

"Yeah, I guess," Ned said, hesitant. "I mean, he's super busy with his new responsibilities. It can't be easy taking up the mantle of Captain America."

"Right." Peter chewed on his lip. "I kinda forgot about that. Hey, are we supposed to call him Captain America now or does he still go by The Falcon?"

Ned shrugged. "The media still calls him the Falcon, so that's what we've been calling him."

Peter nodded. "Alright. So... it looks like we're on our own again. Some things just never change, huh?"

"I don't know, Peter." Ned poured himself some more tea. "This is bigger than anything we've done by ourselves before. This is really dangerous."

Peter sighed, running his hands through his hair. "I know, okay? But there isn't anyone else! You said it yourself, the Falcon is busy keeping SHIELD happy. And anyway, this whole thing is about me. I'm not going to stand by while good people get hurt."

Ned put his tea down. "This is crazy. MJ, come on. Surely you don't agree with him."

MJ bit her lip. "I mean, it's like Peter said. There isn't anybody else. And... I don't like feeling helpless. I'd rather be doing something, than standing around knowing that Peter's in danger but not being able to do anything about it. Do you know how hard these last few weeks have been? I went to bed every night thinking about how you could be dead in the morning."

She wiped her eyes angrily. "Peter's right, we have to do something. And we have to do it soon. We can't just wait around for the battle to come to us. We need a plan."

"Right, okay." Peter thought for a moment. "Do you think we should confront Fury? Tell him I know about the people who've been Turned?"

"No way," Ned said. "That would just make him mad. He'd probably put you under house arrest in the compound or something. And I, for one, have no desire to get on that guy's bad side."

"What if we go back to the compound and take a look around? There's gotta be files on this stuff, right? Interviews with those who've been turned, or something?" Peter leaned forward, his elbows on the coffee table. "I know you said they only say my name, but there might be information that you guys don't know about. Also, who's to say that Fury was telling you the whole truth?"

"It still seems risky,"  Ned said, shaking his head.

"It's the only plan we have," MJ interjected. "I think we need more information before we can move forward. We're in the big leagues now. We need to be professional, think things through."

Ned scoffed. "Since when has any superhero we know thought things through?"

"True," MJ said, rolling her eyes.

"Then we need to be better than them," Peter said, lost in a memory.

"What?" Ned said, a little confused. "You think we can be better than the Avengers?"

"It doesn't matter. We have to try. It's what Mr. Stark would've wanted. And that means no fighting or going behind each others back. We're a team, and we need to trust each other. So from now on, no more secrets. Agreed?" he asked, looking each of them in the eye.

"Agreed," Ned said confidently, even though his hand was shaking a little as he put down his tea.

"Agreed," MJ chorused, looking Peter in the eyes. He smiled at her, and she smiled back, warmth in her eyes.

"Great. But for now... We should probably get some sleep. It's gonna be a big day tomorrow!"

"Yeah, and I should probably get home," MJ said. "My parents will be wondering where I am."

"We'll get Happy to pick you up in the morning, say, around eight?" Peter asked.

"Sure. See you, losers." She slung her bag over her shoulder, heading for the door. It closed with a thud, leaving Ned and Peter sitting in silence.

"I thought you would have tried to keep her out of it," Ned said, picking up his tea again.

"I thought about asking her to go home and stay there. But... I knew that she never would've done it. And honestly? MJ's a badass. She can handle herself."

"Yeah, you're right."

"And what about you? Feel up for another mission?" Peter smiled.

"Totally," Ned said. "But first, sleep. I hope you weren't kidding about that because I am exhausted."

"Sleep," Peter agreed, standing up and stretching. His eyes felt like they were full of sand and his joints popped like he was fifty years older. The all-nighters he'd pulled working on the suit were definitely catching up to him. One night wouldn't fix it all, but it was a good place to start, and, let's face it, he needed all the help he could get. He had a feeling - call it a premonition or, more likely, his spidey sense - that what was coming was harder than anything he'd ever had to face before. He could only hope that he and his friends made it out the other side.

I have no excuses. I'm sorry. Y'all are amazing, though.

-Viwrit3r